I teach classes for Wilton at a local community college part time, and I was asked today by the dean to put together a proposal about the Wilton classes to propose to the review board to offer the classes on a full time basis. One of the questions he asked me to "ponder" and "discuss" was how could Wilton classes help someone with a job they make have or want. What are ya'll ideas on this? How can taking a Wilton course help someone with their goals and dreams career wise? Could these classes help someone get hired somewhere? I have my own ideas on this subject, but I curious on what others think. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! : )

The first thing that comes to mind is that while the skills learned are very valuable and may get someone a job, I would think many places would not want to hire someone whose skills are so tied to one way of decorating. Conceivably, all their cakes may have a certain look and this look is recognizably Wilton. Just playing the devil's advocate and giving you some food (or cake!) for thought.

You know, I've always been a creative person. Ever since I was little, I was always into arts in crafts and doing any little thing artistic. I knew I wanted to do something that would showcase my talent but there was never anything that I could say this is it until now. The wilton classes basically show you the basics of cake decorating but it's up to you to get those creative ideas. Honestly, I didn't like doing the cakes that were in the book and my instructor wasn't really by the book either, I guess that is why I liked her so much. This is just one of my ideas/opinion.

Ana

I can see cookieman's point, but I'll play devil's advocate to her point I would say even if certain techniques are very recognizable to Wilton's, other techniques (such as a shell border) are widely used in cake decorating. Plus, is it really a negative that techniques are recognizably Wiltons? I mean, is there anywhere that says you can't use Wilton's techniques and go out and get a job and make money off of skills you learned in their classes/ with their method? I think the Wilton's classes give you a great base to build upon. From there (and with the help of CC ), you can come up with incredible edible masterpieces. There are restaurants, grocery stores, coffee shops, that have bakeries that would see people with decorating skills as valuable assets. Not to mention possibilities if you open your own place...

Just my 2 cents!

When I was in college, some thirty years ago , I was reminded by my best instructors that I was there to "learn how to learn". Yes, I was expected to master course material, but I was also supposed to be finding a way to branch out and learn more.

I may have gotten jobs because of my degree, but I kept my jobs because I was able to adapt what I'd learned to new situations and to use my knowledge to create new avenues for problem solving.

A good course helps a student to develop and grow this way. A poor course doesn't encourage creativity and forces a student into thinking it's the only way.

I've taken Wilton 1,2,3, the Master's Class, and a variety of other Wilton classes. I've learned something in every one that I've later adapted to my own style of decorating. Nearly every "name" decorator out there started out learning basic "Wilton" style decorating, often directly thru Wilton.

Those with artistic and creative abilities see the techniques as jumping off points for decorating, not hard and fast "rules. Others can become excellent technicians and follow the style faithfully all of the time. Either way is acceptable.

The classes can help either type of decorator. Not everyone will want to branch out into gum paste flowers, fondant, sugar work, chocolate, etc., but the classes can open a lot of doors and windows for creative people, as well as produce decorators capable of lovely, well done work--and that equals jobs.

Just my .02
Rae

I think the Wilton classes give you a great start in the basics of cake decorating. Of course, I love my instructor and am so excited because I will (finally) get to do the fondant and gumpaste class this week and I only wanted to take it from her. She taught us the "Wilton" way but also said there were other ways to do things and if time permitted (after class) would show other ways to do things. A border is a border isn't it? Toba Garrett even shows how to do shell, zig zag, rope borders, etc. in her book. I would love to get a job decorating cakes (basic designs of course) and the Wilton classes have given me the confidence that if a store wanted someone with limited experience, I would apply because of what I learned in the Wilton classes.

Everyone's points are really good and well taken. In my mind I look at the classes as more of a spring board. When I took my classes I took what I learned and expanded way beyond. I am a highly creative person and have been since I was a little kid. So every time I have learned something from a class, I tend to interpret it myself, and it has helped me with my career. To me the classes give you a start and could be quite helpful.

From the perspective a a shop owner who pays well and has a pretty big staff, I will avoid hiring people who have a basis in Wilton training. For me, there are too many bad habits learned in Wilton classes, and it's much tougher to "re-train" someone than to train them in the way that I want things done. I prefer to hire either professionally trained pastry bakers or people with a background i fine arts like painting or sculpture.

Gosh, I don't think doing something differently than the way you do it is "a bad habit"........... I really take offense at the idea that taking Wilton classes endows one with "bad habits" in cake decorating.

A good decorator, or any employee, has some degree of flexibility, whether their early training was in Wilton classes, or not. They should be able to understand what you expect as their boss and either be able to do it that way, or not. If not, either by personal reasoning or inability, they're not the right employee for the job. Of course, there may be times when their way is better than yours, too....

Different isn't always worse, or bad. If it's costing you $ as a shop owner, then it may need to be changed for cost effectiveness.

To be honest, I see a certain TV shop owner's employees without any formal cake training struggle and do things the hard way--often the wrong way and in a way that is less than sterling. Perhaps if they had a stronger background in the basics, they would be more efficient.....

I took a class last spring that included 9 professionally trained pastry chefs (out of a dozen students in the class). I was, quite honestly, shocked at what they DIDN'T know about stacked cake construction, fondant, gum paste, etc. (all things that I learned in basic Wilton courses). At the end of the weeklong class, the head pastry chef of a Ritz Carlton asked to see some of my photos. He then asked for my card so that "he could call me when he had questions about cake decoration and construction.".....

There will always be those whose motto is, "My way, or the highway", and that's fine, but I don't have any "bad habits" developed as a result of taking Wilton classes--and I'm not the exception to the rule, either.

It's fine to dislike, or not appreciate, the basic/classic/old fashioned "Wilton Way", but to imply that those who practice it have bad habits is disturbing.

Sorry, but I had to respond.
Rae

One thing also is a good point. It gives people the option to have a taste of decorating. Minimum investment to see if this is a career angle they want to pursue, whether or not they have the aptitude or willingness to practice to improve this type of skill.

JMO

Judi

All I can say is show them my photos and my work and tell them I started with Wilton Courses. I believe is the simplest most easy and affordable way to start learning to decorate cakes..
Edna

I started with Wilton as well. The course is only as good as the teacher. I had a FABULOUS teacher who took the time to explain to each of her students the part they didn't understand. I would take a course from her on anything. It makes a difference when the teacher cares and really enjoys what she is doing.

Personally, I LOVED the courses and found them as a great springboard into the wonderful world of cake decorating!

Enjoy your day!

When I first started decorating there were no Wilton courses, at least in my area. I bought the Wilton encyclopedia, it explained what each tip could do, this was valuable information for me. It showed me how to make a rose and other flowers, also valuable information. I learned different borders and piping, valuable information. In the encyclopedia II they introduced you to gumpaste, which I tried and didn't like. Once I learned these basics I put the encyclopedias on a shelf to stay.

Things I found doing different were:
Out of the 100 or so different tips they encourage you to buy...I use 10.
Royal icing has no place in decorating for me. It is hard and gross.
The hard little flowers didn't look like flowers to me...I learned to make them all from buttercream.
The rose nail is slow and you can't gauge the size of the rose like you can with a stick.
Most of their cakes require special pans or enhancements which they are happy to sell to you.

I guess it would depend on how many total hours of class time you are talking about. If you would be covering only the basics then that is how I would promote it....learn the basic equipment and how to use it. Learn the cake decorator's language. Learn different icings and how to use them. Make yourself aware of what cake decorating is all about and how to let your creativity take over. I learned to decorate the Wilton way but I never made a cake from any of the Wilton books. Yes, tonedna, I agree they can look at any of my photos and say, she learned how to decorate using the Wilton way.
Jean

I think that Wilton classes could be very bennificial to someone looking for a career in baking. Is it going to get them a job at a 5 star hotel bakery. . . probably not. It will, however, get them a job at a grocery store bakery. I bet all of you can tell which grocery stores have a cake decorator who has had some sort of training and those who have had none. Wilton teaches the basics, its a place to start, then from there a person can grow and expand.

ps. why is everyone knocking Wilton? I Love Wilton!

Actually... grocery store bakeries would rather teach you then have you come in with Wilton training. They want you to be fast... not meticulous.

txkat: "I am saying from MY perspective, as a top paying employer in this field, I do not believe Wilton Classes are a good investment because mostly Wilton classes are a method to sell Wilton products and that's about it"

So, I take it that you've taken Wilton classes (and from a poor instructor, I suppose)????

Sure, I initially bought Wilton supplies. I had nothing else available to me. Having been bitten by the decorating bug by my wonderful Wilton 3 instructor, I've "upgraded" many of my pans, tools, etc. now that decorating is no longer just a hobby, but a passion to create.

Have you looked at my photos--actually, my blog--blakescakes.blogspot.com--is a better site--or the myriad other photos on this site posted by those of us "infected" Wilton decorators???

Yes, you've obviously had rotten luck with the PEOPLE you've worked with, but it's silly to blame Wilton for producing whiners or slackers. They were that BEFORE they took the Wilton courses.

Some stop at Wilton, others grow & expand because of it. I grew exponentially, and continue to grow, but I'm grateful to those who planted the seeds 4 years ago.

Let's see, I can temper chocolate with the best of them BECAUSE of the chocolate class that I took at.....WILTON.
I can blow sugar and work with isomalt because of the class I
took at....Wilton
I can smooth a cake with a large offset spatula, a bench scraper, or a metal straight edge because of the class I took at..........Wilton
I can cover a dummy or a real cake smooth as a baby's bottom because of a class I took at ..............Wilton
I can write on a cake, pipe a border, make........oh, hell, you get the point.

Had I not taken those first, beginner's classes, I NEVER, NEVER, NEVER would have branched out into those areas, spent the money to learn,...

AND, most importantly, learned that I didn't want someone else constraining or using MY creative juices in exchange for a paycheck.

Actually, I never met ANYONE, in all of the classes I took, who was taking the class because they wanted to work for someone else. The few I met in classes who were taking them because employers sent them were, almost to a person, the real slackers & whiners of the group (the only 2 who failed my Master's class had been sent on the $$$ of their employers ).

Maybe successful graduates of the Wilton programs are destined to be independent contractors.....

The question that was posed was " Will Wilton classes prepare you to get a job ?" and since the OP is making a pitch to a Community College, where people go to learn skills to able to make good wages and feed their families. As someone who is in the position to hire recent graduates ( as we often do), I can tell you that when someone comes in with Wilton Courses 1 2 and 3 on their resume they don't even get an interview unless they have at least two years experience in a high end commercial bakery, because that is about long enough to de- Wilton someone.

The question was not " Can you become a good decorator starting with Wilton classes?" It was " Can you get a job with Wilton Classes?"

Oooooh my, your cake is gorgeous! Congrats on your 1st place Artistic win! And I see you are going on the Cake Cruise!! Turning grrrrrreeeeeen as I type!

" Can you get a job with Wilton Classes?"

YES---, at a high end commercial bakery, or a grocery store, or a small bakery, or at a Dairy Queen, or at restaurant that wants to upgrade their desserts..., as long as that place appreciates the fact that you know your way around a pastry bag, a tip, a spatula, etc., and expects you to be a good employee (which has nothing to do with being trained by Wilton, or not).

In the right job, you'll use those skills as starting points for learning new skills, perfecting old skills, and growing as a decorator to the point where you're happy with your product on a regular basis.

Some employers will want more, others will be happy with the status quo.

And apparently, some won't want you at all unless you have no pre-conceived notions about decorating...........and that's fine, as long as you both realize that it's a bad fit and you walk away before an argument ensues...........

Rae

Meow.. I think Kat has an important perspective here. She's not knocking anyone who has taken a wilton course. She's not saying that if you take a wilton course you suck. She is saying that, from the perspective of an employer who runs an up-scale large volume bakery, the wilton courses are the last thing on her list of priorities. She is saying the wilton courses does not prepare you for a job in a high volume bakery like hers... and she's right.

Try not to take it personally.

Egads, the hubris in this thread.

Gorgeous cake, Rae. Congrats on your win!

This is the type of nonsense I have to deal with every day. Most culinary classes including wilton are FOR PROFIT enterprises. Their primary mission is not to educate, but to make profit, and so to get people to keep buying, they spin these tales about how valuable their training is and how much money you'll be able to make when you complete the courses etc...but the truth of the matter is absolutely every executive chef wants employees who work to the chef's standards, not the Wilton corporations. Each wilton class is about 4-5 hours. Even the "Master Class" is only 10 8 hour days. and it's $1000.

Spend the $1000 on some art classes or in a culinary program at the Community College, and you can get an associates degree for $1000 in most places, which will go a lot farther toward getting you a job than anything Wilton teaches.